In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The time came on July 2, 1942.

In the past three days, the rain in the northwest of Shanxi Province has not stopped, and the water level of the Yellow River has risen to a historical high.

So the whole work of crossing the river has come to a complete standstill.

More than one million people, as well as a large number of livestock, poultry and supplies, are stranded in the narrow strip between Wohu Mountain and Jiugong Mountain, which is undoubtedly extremely dangerous.

Once the Japanese army breaks through the defense line and enters the army, the more than one million unarmed civilians gathered here will definitely be mercilessly slaughtered by the devils, and the devils will never be relentless.

Fortunately, none of the four major fortresses have been lost.

Tiandagang and Yunqi Town were also not lost.

But the Japanese offensive never stopped.

Although the 28th Division was annihilated, Okamura Ninji transferred the 110th Division.

Therefore, the Japanese army besieging the base area in the northwest of Shanxi still maintained the size of eight divisions.

Eight divisions of the Japanese army, divided into six directions, simultaneously launched a fierce attack on the base area in the northwest of Jin.

Among them, the 1st Division was the most fierce, and after the engineer wing built an easy road, the tanks of the 2nd Tank Wing were able to drive halfway up the mountain and cooperate with the infantry to attack, and the pressure on the Wild Boar Gully fortress instantly increased.

In order to strengthen the defense of the Wild Boar Gully fortress, the brigade commander could only transfer the guard regiment directly under the column.

But even with the addition of the guard regiment, it failed to fundamentally reverse the situation in the wild boar ditch.

Judging from the current situation, the Wild Boar Gully Fortress can hold out for another four days at most.

The situation in the northwest of Shanxi Province has suddenly become unprecedentedly severe.

……

Yunqi Town, outside the headquarters.

The brigade commander looked at the sky with a worried expression.

"Oh my God, is your water tank broken at home?"

"In the past three days, it's been a stop-and-stop, stop-stop, and I haven't seen it on this day!"

"If this continues, how will the more than one million fathers and villagers gathered in the middle of Jiugong Mountain and Wohu Mountain cross the river and how can they move to the Hetao, really."

Just as the brigade commander was talking to himself, Wang Ye hurried over.

"Xiao Wang, how's it going?" The brigade commander asked anxiously, "Is it possible to force the Yellow River?" ”

"Brigadier Commander, it's impossible." Wang Ye said solemnly, "I have already gone to Wanmadu to see, the water level has soared and the turbulence is extremely rapid, and there is no condition to force the crossing in this case." ”

"Damn." The brigade commander scolded, "Then it's no problem." ”

"Yes." Wang Ye nodded and said solemnly, "You must prepare for the worst." ”

"Let's go, let's go back to the headquarters first." After the brigade commander finished speaking, he turned around and left, and Wang Ye hurriedly followed.

The two returned to the war room of the headquarters and saw Ma Yuan and Chen Mingli doing sand table operations.

Seeing the brigade commander and Wang Ye walking in, Ma Yuan and Chen Mingli hurriedly stood up and said, "Brigade commander, Commander Ding just called from Wild Boar Ditch, and the Japanese 1st Division advanced nearly fifty meters forward. ”

"Another fifty meters?" The brigade commander said, "Didn't you say that the wild boar ditch is only four hundred meters deep?" ”

Chen Mingli said: "To be exact, it is already less than 400 meters, and there are about 350 meters, and according to the current advance speed of the 1st Division, it will probably be able to hold out for about four days." ”

The brigade commander asked again: "What about the other directions?" ”

Ma Yuan replied: "The situation in several other directions is fine. ”

Wang Ye sighed: "But as long as one direction is broken through, our defense line will completely collapse. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Ye said again: "Originally, according to our plan, at this time, more than one million fathers and villagers in the base area have almost completed crossing the river. ”

"We'll be able to break through once we've completed the cover mission."

"But now, most of the people have not had time to cross the river, so we have to extend the time of holding on."

"But the problem is that the Wild Boar Gully Fortress is almost unbearable, and once the Wild Boar Gully Fortress is broken through, there is no need to continue to hold on to the Pig Killing Mouth, Wild Wolf Valley and Xijikou Fortress."

"There are also Yunqi Town and Tianda Gang, there is no need to stick to it."

Speaking of this, Wang Ye said again: "So we must adjust the defensive deployment." ”

"Adjusting the deployment of defenses is for sure." The brigade commander nodded, and then said, "Now the question is how to adjust?" ”

Wang Ye said: "No matter how you adjust, one thing is certain, that is, you have to find a few defensive supports again, defensive supports that can block the advance of the Japanese army!" ”

The eyes of the brigade commander and Wang Ye fell on the sand table at the same time.

A few seconds later, the brigade commander and Wang Ye said at the same time: "County seat! ”

Then the two of them stopped at the same time, and then Wang Ye said, "Brigade commander, you say." ”

"It's better Xiao Wang, you say it first." The brigade commander smiled and said, "Let's see if you think the same as I do?" ”

"Okay then." Wang Ye immediately pointed to the sand table and said, "Brigade commander, judging from the current situation, once the wild boar ditch is in danger, we only have two choices, either transfer troops and reinforcements from other directions, or directly abandon the wild boar ditch." ”

"The problem is that now the forces in other directions are also stretched thin, and there are no troops to adjust."

"So giving up the boar ditch is the only option, then, you need to find another defensive support in the back."

"It's impossible to find a pass like a wild boar ditch and a pig killing mouth, but fortunately, there is still a county seat."

"From the map, the county seat of Laoxian, the county seat of Ping'an and the county seat of Anhua form a triangle."

"If the three detachments of the main force of our column can hold the three county towns respectively, we will be able to completely cut off the passage for the Japanese army to enter the western part of our base area."

"At least the heavy equipment of the Japanese army will definitely not be able to get in."

"And if it's just a small number of infantry, our local armament will be enough to deal with it."

Speaking of this, Wang Ye said again: "So my defense plan is that when the situation is impossible, decisively abandon the four fortresses on the periphery and the fortifications of Tiandagang and Yunqi Town, and the main force of the column will retreat to Laoxian, Ping'an County and Anhua County respectively, and the local armed forces of the three military subdivisions will also retreat to the west of Tongpu Road, and use the marmot tactics to block the enemy's attack. ”

The brigade commander nodded and said: "At this point, you think of it with me, the question is what to do with the artillery regiment?" ”

"yes, artillery is a real problem." Wang Ye said, "If it is still an offensive operation, because we can choose the offensive time at night, the artillery can still participate in the battle." ”

"But now the situation has become a passive defense."

"In passive defense, if artillery wants to play a role without air supremacy, it can only protect itself with strong or complex fortifications, just like the artillery batteries of the four outer fortifications, without which they could not have survived the bombardment of Japanese aviation."

After a pause, Wang Ye said helplessly: "But now there is no fortress to provide cover for our artillery, so we only have two choices, either take advantage of the fact that the Japanese army has not yet completed the encirclement of the base area in the northwest of Shanxi, order the artillery regiment to transfer, or divide the artillery regiment into three and hide them in the civilian buildings of the three county towns for use as anti-aircraft guns." ”

After Wang Ye finished speaking, his eyes turned to the brigade commander, and this could only be made by the brigade commander.

The brigade commander's brow furrowed, for it was indeed a difficult choice.

On the one hand, the brigade commander really wanted to keep this artillery force, and for the Eighth Route Army, which lacked firepower, the existence of this artillery unit was very important, but on the other hand, the brigade commander also knew that if the artillery was transferred, the situation that the Northwest Column of Shanxi Province would face would become more difficult.

In addition to this, there is another factor that cannot be left unconsidered.

That is, they do not have the ability to remove the arsenal as well.

Therefore, if the artillery regiment is transferred, the shells reloaded by the arsenal will be useless, and if the artillery regiment is still in the northwest of Shanxi, it will be able to continue to cause casualties to the Japanese army with the shells reloaded by the arsenal, so this is really a dilemma.

After much consideration, the brigade commander finally decided to settle a compromise.

The artillery regiment was divided into four, and Cao Sanlian led an artillery battalion to transfer to the Taiyue column.

The remaining three artillery battalions (each with four artillery batteries and 16 75 mountain guns) were organized into three detachments.

Then, Ding Wei led a detachment to guard Lao County, Kong Jie led a second detachment to guard Ping'an County, Li Yunlong led a third detachment to guard Anhua County, the brigade commander led a guard regiment to temporarily garrison Anhua, and all the local troops of the three military subdivisions were transferred to the west of Tongpu Road to deploy defense.

……

The battle plan of the Northwest Column of Shanxi Province was quickly reported to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.

After circulating the telegram, the boss, the division commander, and the deputy chief of the general staff all fell into deep thought.

After pondering for a long time, the boss said, "Two old guys, let's talk about it?" ”

The division commander said: "Our party is the people's party, and our army is the people's army, and this point will never and cannot be shaken, so before the more than one million fathers and villagers of the Northwest Shanxi Military Region have not been safely transferred, even if the Northwest Shanxi Column is all wiped out, it will absolutely not be allowed to evacuate without authorization!" ”

"I agree." The boss said solemnly, "We will always be the people's army!" ”

The division commander said: "Under this premise, the choice of the Northwest Column of Shanxi Province can be said to be the only feasible choice, only by firmly holding Ping'an County, Lao County and Anhua County, can we cut off the highway and prevent the Japanese heavy equipment from crossing the Tongpu Road, posing a threat to the arsenal and the villagers hidden near Wanmadu." ”

The deputy chief of the general staff said worriedly: "But this is a city defense battle after all?" ”

After a pause, the deputy chief of the general staff said: "First, we lack experience in urban defense warfare, and second, the equipment of the Japanese army is far superior to that of our army, and even the coordination of aviation, so the difficulty of this stopping battle will be beyond imagination, and the final result is likely to be ......."

What it will be, the deputy chief of the General Staff did not go on.

But the meaning has been made clear, that is, it is very likely that the whole army will be destroyed.

The division commander said: "I still adhere to the opinion just now, I would rather fight the whole column to protect the people and transfer!" ”

The boss said directly to the deputy chief of general staff: "Send a telegram back to the Northwest Column of Jinxi, just say that their combat plan has been approved by the headquarters, but there is one clause, they must ensure that they complete the task of covering the transfer of the people, and while completing the task, they must protect themselves as much as possible, and kill and wound the enemy as much as possible!" ”

"Yes!" The Deputy Chief of the General Staff solemnly agreed.

……

That night, the brigade commander and Wang Ye hurried back to the headquarters in Anhua County.

Not long after, Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, Kong Jie, Zhong Sheng, Sun Bin, Ma Yaozu and other detachment commanders or commanders of military divisions also arrived.

As soon as he entered the door, Li Yunlong couldn't wait to shout: "Brigade commander, is there going to be any big move again?" ”

Li Yunlong is Li Yunlong, all he thinks about is always attacking, the situation has reached this point, he still thinks about taking the initiative to attack, and then attack!

The brigade commander actually admired Li Yunlong's offensive spirit.

If conditions permit, the brigade commander also wants Li Yunlong to let go of his hands to attack.

Unfortunately, they really don't have the conditions to take the initiative to attack now, and now they can only defend passively.

At that moment, the brigade commander nodded and said in a deep voice: "That's right, our Northwest Column of Jin Province really has to make a big adjustment. ”

Speaking of this, the brigade commander turned his head to Wang Ye and said, "Xiao Wang, it's up to you to introduce you to the specifics." ”

"Yes." Wang Ye agreed, then picked up the long wooden pole and pointed to the sand table and explained, "Chiefs, you must all know what the current situation is. ”

"The Wild Boar Gully Fortress is about to be untenable."

"Once the Wild Boar Gou Fortress is lost, the remaining three fortresses, as well as the Tiandagang and Yunqi Towns, will become meaningless, because after the Japanese army breaks through the Wild Boar Gully Fortress, they can drive straight along the Tongpu Highway, take advantage of the situation to seize Lao County and Anhua County, and then advance to Wanmadu along the Anwan Highway."

"If so, the arsenal will not be guaranteed."

"The fathers and villagers who are hiding near Wanmadu will also be slaughtered by the Japanese army."

"And this is something we don't want to see in any case, and in view of this, we have to adjust our defensive deployments to ensure the safety of the arsenal, and more importantly, the safety of the people."

Li Yunlong, Ding Wei and the other six listened very carefully.

After a pause, Wang Ye said again: "The reason why the Japanese army is strong is mainly because of their heavy weapons, especially large-caliber heavy artillery and tanks, but these heavy weapons have a fatal weakness, that is, they need to maneuver by road, especially because they rely more on bridges. ”

"Look at the terrain again."

"We only need to occupy the three county towns of Lao County, Ping'an County and Anhua County,"

"The road can be completely cut off, and it is wishful thinking for the Japanese army's heavy weapons to enter the west of Tongpu Road."

Hearing this, Kong Jie couldn't hold back any longer, and said loudly: "Understood, it's just to defend the three county seats, right?" ”

"Yes, stick to the three county seats." Nodding, Wang Ye said again, "The first team guards Lao County, the second team guards Ping'an County, and the third team guards Anhua County." ”

"But the Japanese army still has a number of mountain divisions."

"Therefore, it is not enough to just defend the three county seats."

"Therefore, local troops of the three army divisions are also needed to hold the two wings of the mountains."

After a pause, Wang Ye pointed to the sand table and said: "The troops of the first division are responsible for defending the Jiugong Mountain area, the troops of the second division are responsible for defending the Wohu Mountain area, and the troops of the third division are responsible for protecting the area between the three county towns, but there is one point, the local troops of the three military divisions must not fight hard with the Japanese army. ”

"You must make the most of the tunnels."

"I've got groundhog tactics ready for all three of you."

"After the meeting is over, Staff Officer Ma and Staff Officer Chen will talk to you."

After saying this, Wang Ye said to the brigade commander again: "Brigade commander, I have finished speaking. ”

The brigade commander snorted, and then looked around at the crowd: "If you have any questions, please hurry up." ”

Kong Jie hurriedly said: "Brigade commander, there are no other problems, but our second detachment has not much ammunition. ”

"You don't have to worry about that." The brigade commander said, "During this time, the arsenal has been working overtime to reload bullets and shells, and I will ask Xing Zhiguo to replenish all the ammunition for each detachment and military subdivision." ”

Kong Jie said with a satisfied face: "Then our second team will have no other problems." ”

"All right?" The brigade commander looked around and said, "Then go back and prepare." ”

Just when Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Kong Jie turned around and wanted to leave, Wang Ye suddenly said, "Wait a minute." ”

Stopping Li Yunlong and the others, Wang Ye said again: "When you give up your position, don't give up directly, it's best to wait until the devils attack." ”

"What?" Kong Jie hurriedly said, "What should we do if the devil bites our butts and chases?" ”

"What you want is the devil chasing." Wang Ye said with a smile, "The main force can be evacuated in advance, but one unit must be left to be responsible for the rear, and a large number of mines must be arranged in advance." ”

"When the devils attack, pretend not to be defeated."

"Wait for the devils to go deep into the position, and then detonate the mines."

"This can not only cause heavy damage to the devils,"

"It can even deter devils and make them dare not chase and kill rashly."

After a pause, Wang Ye said again: "In this way, our army can retreat calmly." ”

Kong Jie couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this: "Xiao Wang, you kid is really cunning enough, and the devil is really unlucky enough to have such an opponent as you." ”

The brigade commander said: "Did you hear it?" When you hear it, do it. ”

"Yes!" Ding Wei agreed with a bang, and left separately.

The brigade commander called the artillery commander Cao Sanlian in and said, "Cao Sanlian, you should go." ”

Cao Sanlian said a little unwillingly when he heard this: "Brigade commander, can I not leave?" I want to stay. ”

"It's an order!" The brigade commander said undoubtedly, "I don't need to say more about how important artillery is to our Eighth Route Army, right?" The reason why our Northwest Column was able to annihilate the 69th Division and the 28th Division of the Japanese Army was because we had powerful artillery, so this unit must be retained. ”

After a pause, the brigade commander said again: "Cao Sanlian, I will hand over these 28 American-style 75 mountain guns to you, you kid must keep them for me, and bring them back to Taiyue Mountain unscathed." ”

The brigade commander originally planned to let Cao San Company take away a battalion of 16 mountain guns.

couldn't resist Wang Ye's persuasion, and finally decided to take all 28 American-style mountain guns away.

The remaining 36 Japanese-style 75 mountain guns were divided into three battalions, which were assigned to three detachments.

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